Regular readers of this blog will know that I enjoy publishing guest posts. Today’s writer is composer and piano teacher Angeline Bell. Angeline has recently published two new volumes of piano music with Editions Musica Ferrum, and, in this article, she takes us on her journey as a composer. Scroll to the end of the…
Tag: ABRSM Exams
Let’s make way for the Ladies!
The latest edition of Pianist Magazine is now available and it’s an ‘all women’ affair. Spotlighting Isata Kanneh-Mason, who appears on the front cover, this issue offers all the usual magazine goodies; ‘how-to-play’ articles by Lucy Parham, Nils Franke and myself, highlighting female composers (Maria Szymanowska, Cécile Chaminade, and Clara Schumann), in-depth masterclasses from Graham…
A Grade 7 Journey
Today’s guest blog post has been penned by my student Becky Flisher. Becky is a typical adult piano student who has a full-time job and many other hobbies and interests. She has been learning the piano for a while and attends several piano courses every year, including my course at Jackdaws Music Education Trust, and…
10 Tips for Piano Exam Success
I am delighted to have been invited to be an Honorary Master Teacher at the Tom Lee Academy in Hong Kong, and I’m looking forward to visiting the academy every year to work specifically with piano teachers. My first blog post for the Tom Lee website focuses on piano exams. This perennially popular subject is…
Intervals – training or teaching?
In my second guest post of this new series, George Bevan (an organist, choirmaster and Director of Music at Monkton Combe School), pictured below, writes about his experiences whilst teaching intervals, and offers some suggestions for effectively tutoring this important skill. I hope this may be useful for all who teach instrumental music exams. It…
Selecting & Practising Piano Exam Repertoire: ABRSM Grade 5
Continuing with my series examining effective exam programming combined with five tips for the suggested listed pieces, ABRSM Grade 5 is the focus today. Some of my tips could be applied to similar repertoire, so if you’ve already settled on your programme, you might be able to use some of the ideas mentioned here. These…
Practising Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor Op. Posth. by Fryderyk Chopin
I wrote about practising this beautiful Nocturne a few years ago (you can read the article here), and it has become one of my most ‘viewed’ blog posts. This work is now especially popular partly due to the fact that it is on the current ABRSM Grade 7 syllabus (2017 – 2018). I was invited…
Selecting & Practising Piano Exam Repertoire: ABRSM Grade 2
Continuing my series on selecting and practising piano exam repertoire, today we move on to ABRSM Grade 2. I’ve chosen three works (one from each of lists A, B & C) which are hopefully complimentary, offering a balanced exam programme, with five practice tips for every piece. As always, selections come from the standard exam…
Melanie Spanswick 